Meet Kenyan policeman who holds the national record for donating blood
The name Kennedy Alpha Sanya might not ring a bell to many Kenyans, save for his close friends and a few people in Nakuru, where he works as a public prosecutor.
But that is not what should make you know Sanya. Well, the policeman is the country’s leading blood donor, according to the National Blood Transfusion Service.
He has donated blood a record 88 times. In 2014, his life-saving efforts earned him the praise of First Lady Margaret Kenyatta during the World Blood Donor Day celebrations.
Two years later, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded him the Head of State Commendation. “My love for blood donation began while I was a Form Three student at Pumwani High School in Nairobi when I was enticed with soda to donate blood. I loved soda so much and I could not imagine missing out on the opportunity,” said Mr Sanya.
That journey has seen the career policeman donate blood many times over the years and still counting.
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Today, he says he derives maximum satisfaction that overshadows the excitement of the soda he loved many years ago.
“I feel the urge to reach out to people who go through struggles of getting blood. My joy is that I have reached out to hundreds of people who are total strangers to me,” he said.
He noted that during his sensitisation campaigns, his audiences give various reasons why they do not donate blood.
“The major reason is fear of being diagnosed with HIV/Aids,” explained Mr Sanya.
Dr Josephine Githaiga, the director of Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service, says some people fear donating blood because they think they will collapse and die or they don’t have much of it to share.